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jujudepamplemousse's review against another edition
4.0
A one-way travel to early eleventh century Norway and Iceland written in the simple prose and exploring some of the major themes of old Norse sagas. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Sigrid Unset.
cpruskee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
moncoinlecture's review against another edition
4.0
Contre toute attente, j'ai adoré ce récit au rythme qui m'a rappelé les sagas islandaises ou nordiques. Un style direct, une histoire grandiose et une femme forte vivant dans la Norvège du Moyen Âge, alors que le christianisme remplace peu à peu les anciens dieux. Des paysages et des sentiments plus grands que nature. J'ai adoré.
edustoryramos24's review against another edition
5.0
A blockbuster surprise, considering most early Scandinavian Nobels are, to put it kindly, critically dated. Written in 1909 when the author was 27, Gunnar´s Daughter suprisingly eschews Romantic historical novel conventions to tell a story of love, hate, regret and revenge loosely based in later Middle Age Icelandic sagas in a style evocative of those while remaining contemporary. Unless you´re an expert, this is much more fascinating to read than, say, Thomas Mallory´s Morte d´Arthur. And in the last few chapters I had trouble keepoing my Adam´s apple steady.
lessidisa's review against another edition
2.75
J'allais mettre 4 étoiles mais plus j'avançais dans les dernières pages plus je voyais la note baisser ... oui je suis en désaccord avec la fin. J'avais prévu de commencer à lire Sigrid Undset avec Jenny mais la vie a mis sur mon chemin Vigdis, mais je savais bien que ça n'allait pas tant me plaire.
J'ai trouvé la plus grande partie de l'histoire très plaisante, cela ressemble à une légende. Histoire de vikings. On se demande ce qui peut bien lui plaire chez ce goujat de Ljot.
Je pense que celle qui sera ta femme tirera grand honneur de ta façon de t'insinuer chez les gens, de tuer leurs chevaux, de mettre à mal les filles et de répandre partout tes mensonges et tes chansons.
Je finirai par être obligée de me coucher sous un sapin, se disait-elle, mais qu'importe, le malheur ne sera pas grand.
J'ai trouvé la plus grande partie de l'histoire très plaisante, cela ressemble à une légende. Histoire de vikings. On se demande ce qui peut bien lui plaire chez ce goujat de Ljot.
Je pense que celle qui sera ta femme tirera grand honneur de ta façon de t'insinuer chez les gens, de tuer leurs chevaux, de mettre à mal les filles et de répandre partout tes mensonges et tes chansons.
Je finirai par être obligée de me coucher sous un sapin, se disait-elle, mais qu'importe, le malheur ne sera pas grand.
suria_go's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kaylenperezslove's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
jeninmotion's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So this whole book surrounds how Vigdis and Viga-Ljot's extremely doomed love affair went extremely bad due to rape, which...yeah. The issue is that while the central part is 1000% damning, you then watch a really human portrait of victim and victimizer in a vastly different context than the modern American one where the victimizer knows he did wrong and suffers, and the victim is able to say "boo-hoo, baby had a sad, can we talk about how I gave birth on an icy night, tried to expose the child to the elements, saved our baby from a fiery death and lost three fingers to gangrene from it while being sexually harassed by every famous man in Norway? " and Undset gives that to her while also giving Ulvar the agony of knowing that his mother's victimizer is a lot more complicated than that act and how much trauma harmed both Vigdis and Viga-Ljot. And I'd probably be much harder on this book if it was published past about 1965 but it's from 1909, in translation and clearly based on Norse epic tropes rather than more modern uses of sexual violence.
It reads very old-timey, but again - published in 1909.
It reads very old-timey, but again - published in 1909.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Rape